Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Pulling the plug on the Otaku Boards



Many factors have made me decide to pull the plug on the message boards:
  1. The increase in billing.
  2. Bandwidth allocation decrease. If you notice, the boards only go up for half a month before it goes beyond the new bandwidth allocation limit.
  3. None of us are that active anymore due to the fact that we're no longer college students with lots of time in our hands.

I was supposed to put the boards up one more time so I could archive it but the account has already been suspended. I'm not willing to pay for something that's only up half the month. What I can do, however, is post this so that you guys who've had plans could still communicate via this post.

I may have another message boards, or maybe a Multiply account for the former members... I'll think of something. I can't do something about the lost content anymore, though. In the meantime, you guys get each other's information while you can.

7 comments:

  1. Incorporating comments from the old site:


    # Aaron The Skull says

    Man…what a shame. I was hoping things would pick up eventually, but I suppose we were just prolonging the inevitable. One less internet haunt for me it seems.

    Maybe I’ll start hanging around the forums for that local anime con, while keeping an eye on this place to see if the Fridge gets a new forums(or something) sometime soon.

    Though that doesn’t seem to be much of a web 2.0 standard anymore, forums. It’s all about blogs now it seems. That was a discussion from a different time though.

    I think one of the older OBers started up their own forum somewhere. I might try digging that URL back up.

    Anyways, here’s my contact info, yet again.

    AIM : Aaron von Platin
    MSN : grandoverlordlit@hotmail.com
    e-mail : grandoverlordlit@gmail.com

    March 3rd, 2009 at 3:45 pm


    # Mookamori says

    That’s too bad, I was hoping that at least we can properly say our farewells, but, just like Aaron says, it was inevitable. I guess the OB Grail Story is in a prolonged hiatus, too.

    Well, at least we can leave your contact info here. Thanks very much, Sky, for all the years of maintaining the Boards, and I’m looking forward to whenever the old OBers can meet up again in another forum or somesuch.

    E-Mail: mookamori@gmail.com

    March 3rd, 2009 at 7:52 pm


    # skysenshi says

    @Aaron
    Well, one thing I liked about forums: organization of categories. Although it’s so much simpler for us to use blogs, if everyone can put in tags…it would be really confusing.

    Hm. I wish there’s a PM function here. Maybe I should upgrade. I don’t feel comfy about having your emails for public consumption (you might get stalkers). Any websites you guys frequent that you could be contacted privately in?

    March 3rd, 2009 at 10:27 pm


    # Aaron The Skull says

    Forums also seem less like they’re connected to one person or entity, and more like a community. That’s what I like about them.

    I’ve got Facebook and Myspace, and I think on a whim I got Multiply but never really used it since.

    Oh and, Blogs usually have just deleting comments, as opposed to editing out offensive content, even if a post is otherwise inoffensive.

    March 4th, 2009 at 1:55 am


    # Bluemaxx says

    Alas….OB is over.However, I will always be thankful to Sky for creating something so wonderful on the internet for all of us anime and hentai otakus.Next to porn, animated smut, fanfic and political news website, OB was one of the things I really loved on the world wide web.

    I would love for all of us to keep in touch for the friendship I have obtained through the boards among its memebrs is something that I will still and always cherish.Here’s my contact info,yo!

    e-mail: anri_alwi@yahoo.com.sg
    facebook:anri alwi

    March 4th, 2009 at 10:20 am


    # Larghaz says

    Well, the boards had a good run. Too bad it ended like that, not even with a bang.

    We will always cherish the memories, the bad, and the good.

    I mean, that’s where we all (or most of us) met.

    We can all say, “We’ll always have OB.”

    March 4th, 2009 at 10:24 am

    ReplyDelete
  2. # Status says

    Things from OB that I will remember for the rest of my life:

    Shawn was — above all else — a ladykiller.

    Fire had a unique gift for making me laugh and think at the same time, and I always wished I’d gotten to know her better.

    Joking that I’d figured out the meaning of life and being taken seriously.

    Calling Rin “Bluemaxx’s pimp”, then waking up the next morning to furious PMs AND icq messages from her because she thought I meant “Bluemaxx’s whore”. XD

    Kenryoku freaking Maxis.

    Watching Nib and Thunder’s artistic talent really take flight was an amazing treat.

    Model Men. The bathtub. Wark. I don’t know if I ever really told anyone from the boards about this, but Splender and I ended up in a long-distance relationship that lasted on and off for a couple of *years*. She was one of the prettiest, smartest, most amazing women I’ve ever known, and she’ll always be my one that got away. It’s my own fault, too, and that’s a hard thing to live with sometimes.

    Maybe one of the most important things I took away from OB was the knowledge that people grow apart, but they can grow back together. Someone on the board (I won’t name names!) hurt my feelings worse than anyone ever had before or since, but it seem that time can heal anything — given enough of a chance, at least.

    It was a good eight years, guys. As Enishi would say… “single tear”

    steve.dixon@gmail.com
    Facebook: Steven Dixon

    March 5th, 2009 at 4:16 pm


    # # Aaron the Skull says

    Y’know how many Steven Dixon’s there are?

    A lot.

    lol

    March 8th, 2009 at 6:16 am
    # Bluemaxx says

    Steve Dixon; teh otehr other name for John Smith’s. XD

    Splender did e-mail me after she left OB years ago.She stopped replying to my e-mails suddenly after a month or so but I do recall she mentioned she was in close contact with another member in OB.I always thought it was elfboy but my brain didn’t bother to consider that you’re probably the person most geographically close and likely to meet her.*lolz* ^_^;

    Still, sorry to know that things didn’t work out between the 2 of you.Status is one of the five people in the boards I look forward to read their posts.Its good to know you read MM and liked it (always had a nagging feeling you hated me portraying you as some Linux-zealous talking penguin with anger issue*lolz*).And I am also thankful to you for letting me mooch your adult finder or was it h-key account a few years ago.That was one of teh sweetest thing anyone have ever done for me over the net.Steve Dixon is my amigo foreva!!! T_T

    March 9th, 2009 at 12:02 pm


    # Status says

    I can’t wait until the day some HR rep decides to google me before a job interview: “Now Steven… what’s this about you giving some Malaysian boy a password to porn sites…?”

    XD

    March 9th, 2009 at 12:34 pm


    # skysenshi says

    Was just reading the comments…

    LOLWUT?????

    March 9th, 2009 at 12:59 pm

    ReplyDelete
  3. # EcchiMonkey says

    Wow I decided to look at the forums after nearly two years since last visit to see if life returned to it. I come to find it has lost its life entirely now… wow, I felt many of the regulars along with the mods were living there almost, the way you all conversed, it looked like home to you guys. It bugs me that it is gone now, I feel sympathetic about it. And what is Larghy going to do now, he can no longer speak to the masses with his great wisdom; ohh I got a good taste of that when I had last been around… XD

    I hope sky finds a solution one way or another, not for myself at all but for everyone else that kept strong ties with the site. Many years ago I had, like, some friends from the site, really fun people to talk to, all who had disappeared but I held onto one for a while, but now she never is online and.. how can I call her a friend if we never even speak? It saddens me, she is missing much like these forums.

    If you were wondering, I stopped going to the site because it felt it had died to me when I read it last. Two, even three weeks would pass and hardly any updates were available to read. It was like there was nothing to talk about anymore outside the infinitely long esoteric threads I understood nothing about thanks to the members knowing one another personally and living on the opposite side of the globe. XD

    I’ll try to remember to return here to check on future comments on this news update to see if anybody replies to this posting I am leaving here. I have mostly good memories of the OB, I had fun when I was more active along with the entire forum back then.

    Ever since I “left” OB my life had gone through hell and back. I wonder how different I am since I was last on the forums posting… wow… @.@

    Anyway, hopefully sky grants everyone’s wishes somehow, it would be nice to have some form of OB within our grasp once more.

    I will say one thing: if OB ever returns from the grave, I’m casting away my stupid username. Only reason I’m posting under it now is so anyone reading this has a chance to recognize who I once was. XD

    Take care everyone, and best of luck for your goals, sky. =)

    March 9th, 2009 at 4:42 pm


    # Shawn (Enishi / Aoshi) says

    Late to the party as always. But this time it seems it’s already over.

    ‘We’ll always have OB.’ As I read through each post I couldn’t help but reminisce about some aspect of the OB that left an impression on me; the reviews, the rants, the reconciles. When I read Larghaz’s comment which simply stated ‘We’ll always have OB’ it struck an extra deep chord.

    After ebbing away from the OB after my many years spent there, I daresay not a week went by where my thoughts did not retreat back to a person or event during my many hours typing away at the OB; one of the senshis laying down their wisdom proper, feeling immense amounts of jealousy for not being able to attend an EB (the Philippines was quite far for a mere Aoshi of 16), or even a debate between morals or anime (I am glad to say that the Post-NGE-Complex no longer has its hold over me). During a personal growth time in my life (I say that with the utmost humility) I had an avenue with which I could outlet my hobbies, likes, dislikes, arguments, short sightedness, ignorance –> growth, perspective, awareness, and finally early adulthood (physically and psychologically). That is immensely thanks to you all.

    Steve is no doubt correct that the signature ‘single tear’ and then some is appropriate here; I however find my eyes instead filled with treasured memories and could not be more honored to know you all.

    People do grow apart, and that is a natural part of life. However, growing apart does not necessarily mean forgetting; so long as there is a string one can follow, we can always meet again. For I will always hold close the time spent with you all. I will always have the Otaku Boards.

    ….single tear…

    Shawn Dhammi
    sdhammi@gmail.com

    March 16th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    ReplyDelete
  4. Continued...

    # Malachi says

    Wow, I didn’t see this one coming, well… not like this anyway. Always expected the boards to end with an announcement on the boards itself.

    While I can’t say I was as close to all as some were, I definitely missed the banter and all the anime goodness I found on the threads. OB definitely stroked my passion for the art, and like a good drug, got me hooked bad.

    I have a truckload of respect the Sky and the other Senshi for keeping the boards on as long as they have. I made a few friends from OB, some I still talk to via e-mail once in a while, some I’ve lost contact with. The boards always provided me with a place to go back, see some familiar “faces” and reminisce about the good times.

    Now that it’s ended, I find myself more than a little sad… I know forums eventually go this way, but I never thought OB would end… it was just too much like home. This actually feels like moving away… to another country.

    Ah well… all good things must come to an end. I’m just glad OB became a part of my life, and I’ve glad I got the chance to meet so many wonderful people. All I can say now is, nice meeting you guys and girls, my world is now just that smaller.

    Xavier Ng a.k.a. Malachi
    xav_hwang@yahoo.com

    March 19th, 2009 at 8:15 am


    # skysenshi says

    Hopefully, I can do something about it during the summer. My only problem would be bandwidth allocation, too. It’s always been my problem.

    March 19th, 2009 at 10:04 am


    # Aaron the Skull says

    I’m frankly a little jealous of all the people who have something profound to say about their reflections of being at the OB.

    But, all I can say along this vein we’re on right now…is I wish it hadn’t come to this and that the OB would have been able to make a come-back.

    That was pretty much a pipe dream though.

    At least it was thanks to the OB that I was introduced to Macross. :3

    March 20th, 2009 at 2:11 pm


    # Bluemaxx says

    (Status says

    I can’t wait until the day some HR rep decides to google me before a job interview: “Now Steven… what’s this about you giving some Malaysian boy a password to porn sites…?”)

    Just say you were part of the government many programs under the Bush Administration to improve US-Malaysian relations for the year 2007-2008 ;)

    Another OB-related thing that I manage to remember and regret…….I didn’t get a chance to attend an EB and meet any of the OBers(save elfboy….met ‘im a few times).Xelloss came ‘ere quietly one time to see the F1 races while me and elf were hoping one of the senshis(thunder/fire/sky?) come here in 2008 (and maybe 2009?). ;_;

    March 24th, 2009 at 1:07 am


    # skysenshi says

    Yeah! I was hoping to go to Singapore and Malaysia, too, but so many things happened within the year that I got stumped. Promotion. PhD studies. And another promotion coming up. *Sigh*

    March 24th, 2009 at 9:52 am

    ReplyDelete
  5. Continued...

    # Aaron the Skull says

    Funny, most people are usually ecstatic over promotions.

    lol

    March 24th, 2009 at 1:22 pm


    # skysenshi says

    @Aaron.
    I am happy. I think. It’s just that I had to give up a lot of other things I wanted in life *coughsociallifecough* While I do have a choice not to take it (I actually turned down the original promotion that was offered to me last year and settled for a lower position), I realized that in the long run, I’d actually need to become a figurehead…for the sake of the things I want to accomplish in the future. I just wish it weren’t so painful to get there.

    March 24th, 2009 at 2:16 pm


    # Aaron The Skull says

    Part of why I wanna stay a grunt my entire life…lol

    March 24th, 2009 at 10:54 pm



    # PsuedoBlair says

    Wow, I just have to say, I came to this site on a whim today to just check out if this site is still alive…since I haven’t been on in let’s see…2006. I agree with EcchiMonkey, I seriously regreted the fact that I haven’t kept in touch for a long while and gotten to get to know you guys better. I really hope OB can come back again, I’m really pissed off at myself for not coming back. Honestly, I had forgotten about this place as a lot of things changed for me at the time and I just got busier. I had almost forgot the sites name, and my own password/username before I remembered again. If OB does come back ‘alive’, I’ll certainly disown my own username…I’ve always wondered why I chose it, never mind why it’s spelled the wrong way :P Take care everyone.

    March 28th, 2009 at 2:40 am



    # Trigon says

    That’s a shame. Although I joined the forums fairly late in the game, I really enjoyed talking about anime and games with all of you.

    I was thinking about submitting a review for the H-Game Princess Waltz. It’s been over 2 years since my last review, so I am not sure what the process is now. I was going to ask on the forums, and ran across this sad news.

    Stay safe everyone. I hope we can meet again some time in the future.

    April 2nd, 2009 at 7:28 am



    # Sesshomarulocked says

    ;_;

    It certainly was fun and I will miss it. I had just started to get back into visiting again too. I’m glad to have been able to share that experience with all of you…colorful people.

    April 15th, 2009 at 1:57 am



    # MarkPoa says

    And so ends another of my forums. There seems to be a five year cycle for these. Anyhow, I still have some of the OBers on my YM and mostly on Plurk.

    Shame I didn’t get to meet the Malaysian and Singaporean OBers when I went to those countries. Ah, well… here’s to other chances.

    As for writing and forums, I’m a usual at the Cosplay.ph website and forums, plurk, multiply, and other places. Feel free to drop by, guys and gals. My handle’s still the same in most places. :P

    April 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm



    # skysenshi says

    I’m not sure, MarkPoa, if you were one of the hosts in that major cosplay event in Robinson’s Faura? One of the hosts sure looked a lot like you. Hahahaha!

    I was spending time with the UP-AME people.

    April 23rd, 2009 at 10:50 am

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  6. Continued...

    # Kamisama says



    i lost my 2nd home that i was in for almost…8 years? I met so many people, got some many friends, and certain obstacles…And…WAAAAHH!!!

    …We always friend, right! OBers FOREVER!!!

    April 25th, 2009 at 2:37 pm



    # elfboy says

    Hell, I’m really late replying to this! :D

    Hard to imagine, but yeah, I spent the better part of 6-7 years on OB, and it’s something that I’ll always remember. Even though they weren’t always good times, looking back, I can honestly say I recall it all fondly. With fondness. Fondly fondling. Fond.

    Anyway (there goes my speech pattern once more — you know it’s a bad habit when every post I post has anyway in it), :D Uh, what do I remember? Well, Model Men of course, and of course my Non-again, off-again ‘romance’ with Firesenshi, my Non-again, off-again ‘Bro-mance’ with Blue and my everlasting love affair with everything OB.

    There’s my conversations with KnM, Kamisama, Aaron, Kuni, my ‘Captioning’ days with MarkPoa and so many other funny people, uh, just talking anime with uh… uh… shoot, can’t remember their names — oh, my ‘rhyming’ days with SarcasticByNature, and of course Model Men with Bluemaxx, Splendor (the only two other writers on it), Rinoa (our first villain), all the Senshis (our bosses), 3nity, Lizard (ye perpetually naked one), oh gosh, so many, Status and KitKat, Accela, Orcalithe, Voldemort, Soshi, and everyone else whom I’ve not mentioned. (Forgive me if I left you out).

    ((And Status, I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Splendor. I wish it had.))

    Anyone, ANYONE, who has a new OB-type forum or blog or whatever, let me know. I’m there. I’ve been watching anime (not religiously because I watch it for more than one hour on Sundays… :D) and yeah it’ll just be nice to share the experience(s).

    To Blue, my Model Men half-brother, half-pervert, because I know you’re such a huge fan of his, I quote your man-love-crush, Zac Efron, … uh… something to do about one thing and another thing. You know what I mean, man. Peace and love. :D

    And finally Sky… thank you. Thank you thank you thank you. Since I joined OB, I’ve got the feeling you’ve always wanted to kick my ass, and I am equal parts scared and lovin’ you because of it. I know you probably don’t wanna kick my ass now, but fingers crossed, you never know, we might get that chance one day. One day *fingers crossed* :D

    Everyone, I love you guys, keep OB alive.

    April 28th, 2009 at 2:49 am



    # Malk says

    And I’m even later than Elfie… and it seems I’ll never get higher than 2nd place in the OB Invitational.

    I guess it was kinda inevitable the way things went for a good long while but mein gott do I miss the days of political rambling with KK, my first caption contest win and all the other stuff that went on… (I make it sound awesome don’t I).

    OB was the first board that I made any kind of contribution to and whilst I play about with a couple now, nothing has ever been the same. Having actual modding that kept people to the rules is something I rarely see now and, whilst the occasional drama was comedy, (XXXgothchick I’m thinking of you… expect not in that way, especially as you are almost certainly a fat man) seeing it put to bed when needed was even better.

    I’ll miss you peeps and try to keep my eye in just enough to catch if any kind of revival comes about.

    Good luck to all in all future endeavours and cheers.

    Martin.

    May 12th, 2009 at 5:14 am

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  7. Continued...

    # Kitkat says

    I’ve been out of the loop for a very long time, I thought no one would be able to remember me by now. ^^;

    I met good people in OB, both online and offline. OB was a fun venue to rave, rant and speak about anything under the sun. I enjoyed all the discussions, games and also the EBs!

    I guess its natural that people move on to different things and develop new interests. But I will cherish the all the memories with the OB people.

    Thank you everyone. *hugs*

    May 17th, 2009 at 3:07 pm


    # skysenshi says

    Wow! You’re all coming back now! Haven’t seen kitkat in years though, I wonder what you look like now.

    May 17th, 2009 at 4:06 pm



    # TheCheznit8 says

    Hello, I am trying to delete my username from the Otakufridge, but I can’t seem to find the option on your site.

    Could you tell me how to do so, or if you can, take me off of the site.

    Thanks, Sunny

    June 13th, 2009 at 12:29 pm


    # skysenshi says

    Hi!

    Not everyone who was on the boards are in this site. There are a limited number of people who are registered here and most (if not all) of them have administrative duties. The reason why you couldn’t find the options to delete your username is probably because your username doesn’t exist in here.

    So the first question I’m going to ask is if you can log in. If you can’t, then there’s nothing to delete.

    Hope this helps. :)

    June 13th, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    ReplyDelete

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